Cleft Sentences (C1/C2)
📌 Lesson Contents
🎯 Lesson goal (C1/C2)
Cleft Sentences split a sentence into two parts to put strong focus on one particular element (a name, a place, a time or an action). Instead of saying *”John broke the window”*, we say *”It was John who broke the window”*. These are key structures for advanced exams (CAE/Proficiency) and for persuasive writing. 🚀
🌟 It-Clefts (Emphasising the subject or the complement)
The structure with *”It”* splits the sentence to focus attention on who does the action, or on the circumstances (time/place).
| Standard Sentence | It-Cleft (Cleft Sentence) |
|---|---|
| Mark stole the car. | It was Mark who/that stole the car. (Mark, nobody else!) |
| I met him in Paris. | It was in Paris that I met him. (Paris, not anywhere else!) |
🔍 Wh-Clefts / Pseudo-Clefts (Using “What”)
Pseudo-clefts usually start with a question word like *”What”* to highlight an action or a thing we want.
- Standard: I need a vacation.
- Wh-Cleft: What I need is a vacation. (A holiday is exactly what I need!)
- Standard: He ruined my project.
- Wh-Cleft: What he did was (to) ruin my project. (Ruining my project was his action!)
⏱️ All-Clefts (Focusing on one single action)
They use the word *”All”* (the only thing that) followed by a clause with What, or directly by the verb “to be”.
- All I want is a little peace and quiet. (Nothing more than that!)
- All she did was smile at me. (She did only that!)
🛠️ How to form them
To build a cleft sentence correctly, start from the standard sentence and apply the matching formula:
| Type of Cleft | Building Formula | Practical Example |
|---|---|---|
| It-Cleft (Subject) | It + is/was + [Key element] + who/that + [Rest of the sentence] | It was Anna who called. |
| It-Cleft (Time/Place) | It + is/was + [Place/Time] + that + [Rest of the sentence] | It was yesterday that we arrived. |
| Wh-Cleft (Object/Action) | What + [Subject] + [Verb] + is/was + [Highlighted element] | What I like most is music. |
| All-Cleft (Restrictive emphasis) | All + [Subject] + [Verb] + is/was + [Action/Object] | All I need is time. |
🚫 Common mistakes to avoid
| C1/C2 Mistake ❌ | Correct ✅ |
|---|---|
| What I need it’s a good rest. | What I need is a good rest. (The main verb after the What clause must be ‘is/was’!) |
| It is you who makes me happy. | It is you who make me happy. (The verb agrees with the pronoun before it: it is you who make…) |
| All what I want is peace. | All that I want / All I want… (We don’t say ‘all what’ in standard English!) |
1. Gap Fill & Translation (C1/C2)
Complete the cleft sentences with the missing words (e.g. that, who, is, was, what).
2. Extra: Sentence Builder 🧩
Tap the words to move them and build perfect Cleft Sentences!